How to Meet the Deadlines Effectively

Are you among those people who are of the point of view that deadlines are made to kill your creativity? If yes, then you can’t be more wrong. The deadlines will help you in focusing towards your work and especially if you are working as a freelance graphic designer, setting specific deadlines is inevitable. You need to have strict deadlines for every single project and need to match them as well.

You will find hundreds of people who might react very casually when you tell them that you work as a freelance graphic designer because they think that freelancers have nothing to do and don’t have a regular routine. It might be the case with your client as well and there are chances that you will be taken for granted. So, the first thing that needs to be taken care of as a freelancer is your reputation which depends a lot on your punctuality of meeting deadlines. Juggling the client demands such as creating brochures layouts, and ordering printing can be tough, but if you stay organized you will meet all the deadlines.

If you are passionate about your work, you will make sure that there are no compromises made on the quality of the work while meeting deadlines. The credibility of a freelancer depends on his quality of work and his ability to meet deadlines effectively. By doing this, you can put a good impression on your clients and this also proves to be a great way to add in the list of your clientele. Mostly, freelancers do face an issue regarding meeting deadline. Question here arises is why? The reason is they don’t have a boss to constantly nag on them and since they are not answerable to anyone, they might act careless.

The Tips

So, if you are dedicated and passionate towards your work, you need to keep the following points in mind to meet the deadlines effectively and make a perfect impression of yourself in from of your past, existing and new clients:

Act Responsible – Show You Care

Freelancers are considered to be people with freewill. People expect them to delay their work, work carelessly and do not show up on time when required. As a freelancer and a creative person, you are sure to be passionate about your work and if you are, care about your deadlines. Even if you do not have a boss to report to, act responsible.

Your client should realize that you really care about their project and you will work with sheer dedication to complete it. Consider breaking a deadline a sin and never ever take things for granted. A serious and responsible attitude combined with your creative work will make you a successful freelancer.

Get Organized – Keep a List

Since you are working from home, a lot of mess is expected. So, as a freelancer, the first thing that you need to do is keep your workplace and private place separate even in your home. Secondly, keep your work station organized and you should have a list of all the projects that you are currently working on. Make a list online or write down things on a paper. Do whatever you are comfortable with but make sure the tool you use should be able to remind you about your deadlines. A to-do list will always help you in remembering what’s done and what’s pending.

Realistic Deadlines – Take Your Time

Promising an unrealistic deadline might impress your client at first but when you won’t be able to deliver the project on time; your whole impression will get ruined. So, the key is to under promise and over deliver which clearly means that you need to be realistic while deciding deadlines with your clients.

If your client does not give you a deadline, ask for it. So, deadlines should be reasonable and do explain to the client why you would need more time in the completion of project. The day and even the time should be decided so that there are no confusions later on. Your client should trust you at the end of the day.

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Get Started – As Soon As You Get the Project

Once you get the project, why wait? You need to start working on the project as soon as you get it so that you can understand what is actually required during the project. Even if you have a deadline coming up, make sure you do not compromise with the quality. Showing your best work to client will always help in retaining a client. So, in order to meet deadlines, you need not to waste time. In fact get started as soon as possible.

Clear Communication with the Client

The communication between a freelancer and a client should be crystal clear. Any misunderstanding could lead to a disastrous project so if you have any confusion regarding anything in the project ask your client, instantly. Make sure you do not end up doing something wrong because you will have to re do it and in such cases, chances are that you might miss your deadline.

Break Down the Project

One of the biggest advantages of breaking down a project will be that it will stay organized. If you will try doing everything at the same time, it will obviously create a mess. So the key to meet deadlines is to breakdown your project into smaller pieces. Also, make sure that you have a time decided to complete the each portion of the project if you really want to meet the deadline.

Five Days A Week, More than Enough

Just because you are working from home should not mean that you have no right to go out and enjoy life. It happens to most of the freelancers that while working from home, they do forget how their social life was. So, keep your working schedule of five days and take a break on the weekend. You too need to have a relaxed weekend so that you can make a fresh start on Monday. It is important to focus on project and the only way to do is if you have a fresh and free mind. Just because you can reach your work station anytime does not mean you should. Relax and then get back to work on Monday.

Do Not Postpone at ‘Any’ Cost

If you have scheduled to finish something today, never ever think that you can finish it off later. As a freelancer, postponing your work to tomorrow is not a healthy sign. If you were unable to complete a portion of your project because you got stuck somewhere else, you need to stay up late and complete it. Always think that you do not have an option to postpone it in any case.

In Case of An Emergency

Always keep yourself prepared for the unexpected issue. Anything can go wrong so you should always have a plan if things go wrong. Do not give the exact deadline if you have sort of concerns. Keep a day or two for yourself to analyze and review the project. Critically examine it and make the last minute changes if you think they are required.

The Bottom Line is…

One thing that freelancers should keep in mind that if you are unable to deliver your project on time, it will ruin your impression anyway even if you have managed to come up with the best work of yours. You will start losing clients and obviously as a freelancer these clients help you in earning your daily bread and better.

As a freelancer, your reputation is the most important thing to retain your client and to get new clients. If you do not have clients, you will be out of work “obviously”. So make sure to give a perfect impression by completing project on the given deadlines. This will not only make your client happy, but you will have a good standing as a freelancer and people will trust you with projects and maintaining a credibility for a freelancer is essential.

Great one there! It is well explanatory…just exactly the difficulties that am having with my boss. yesterday, she didn’t take it lightly with me. I regret not meeting the deadline. I will work with your principles and see if things will change for better. I’m really fed up with not meeting deadlines.
My job is at stake all because of ‘DEAD’lines

technology review

Very detailed article on management of projects for freelancers and technically right I thank you Arfa Mirza for such a article

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